Ice-cube tray



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J. M. CHMELAR ICE CUBE TRAY Filed April 9, 1930 lill.. l u 5. fu.- n @.11- l.. q b j) ...2... a 4 n F 0 n 0 r u lllll April 7, 1931.

Inventor v fase/272//zfm;

Allorney Patented ahprt if@ 193i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIt JOSEPH M. CHMELAE, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI ICE-CUIBE TRAY Application filed April 9, 1930. Serial No. 442,940.

In the refrigerator of the Frigidaire type, two

or more trays are` provided in the special compartment provided therefor and these trays are in the nature of sliding drawers and are formed with longitudinal and transverse partitions making a cellular container for producing individual cubes of ice.

As a general rule, when the tray is removed for discharging the ice, it cis subjected to a heating mediumsuch as for instance,

water from the kitchenA sink spigot and this is ordinarily sufficient to loosen the cubes so as to permit them to be knocked out.

The present invention has reference to an improved tray which is characterized by a multiplicity of individual cube forming receptacles and thisA arrangement is advantageous in that it permits the drawer to be partly slid out from its compartment to allow two or more of the individual receptacles to be removed with a view toward conserving the cold air in the refrigerator.

primary object of the invention is in the production of a sliding drawer having these individual receptacles and these receptacles being of tapered design and resting on false bottoms and each false bottom being in the nature of a follower plate and associated with lifting devices whereby to permit the false bottom of the receptacles to be raised from the tray proper to facilitate removal.

The specific structural details and their" companionate association will become more readily apparent from the following description and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view showing a multiple compartment sliding drawer with receptacles at one end and receptacles removed from the opposite end, whereby to disclose the complete arrangement.

Figure 2 is an end view of the improved. tray as seen in Figure l.

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical section through the structure seen in Figure l.

In the drawings, the reference charac 4 designates the tray as a unit. This customary pan-shaped configuration so as to provide the desired sliding drawer readyy to be substituted for the present day typo cellular cube molding drawer such as is i. for example in the Frigidaire type of refrigerator.

As seen in Figure l, there is a transverse central partition at 5, and this serves to di vide the tray into two distinguishable com partments. In each compartment there lifting plate 6 which functions as a follower. This plate iits snugly within the bottom perm tion of vertically for ejecting purposes.

. The numerals 7 designate rigid wires or rod which divide the compartments longitudinally into half portions. Arranged in each portion of each compartment is novel ejectmh ing mechanism. This is preferably in the form' of a lifting shaft 8 havin crank portions 9 and 10 at its opposite en s journalled for oscillation in appropriate bearings. At the outer ends, each shaft is formed with an upstanding operating lever l1 which terminates in a finger grip l2 and the Enger grip co-operates with an arcuate guide slot 13 the tray but is permitted to more formed in the adjacent end wall of the tray as seen better in Figure 2.

Thus, in each compartment there is a duplex rocker shaft assembly which permits the shafts to be operated simultaneously or individually for bodily lifting the follower plate 6 for ej ecting purposes.

T he numerals la designate substantially cubical tapered receptacles which rest on the false bottom or follower plate as seen in Fig ure 3. These are separated in longitudinal pairs by the dividing rod 7 as also shown here, The individual arrangement of the receptacles is highly important for selective purposes.

There are a number of structural features which are to be emphasized. The primary feature is thatl of the individually removable cubical tapered cube holding receptacles 14. These may be taken out one-by-one conveniently and the ice cube readily removed therefrom. It has been found in practice that by holding one of the receptacles with the ice therein in the hand for a few moments,'the heat from the hand is sui'cient to permit the receptacle to be inverted and struck against the drain board 'or the like to knock the cube therefrom easily.

This constitutes a safe and sane means for removing the ice, in that it prolongs the life of the complete structure as well as the individual receptacle themselves. The tapered form of the receptacles while they are nested in the main tray prevents freezing of the feceptacles together, especially when the water is carefully poured into the individual receptacles when setting the device for freezing.

Another point in the individuality of this multiple receptacle arrangement is that the drawer need not be completely pulled out from the compartment. It can be slid out just far enough to permit several of the cube molding receptacles to be removed. In this way, cold air is considerably conserved.A

Equally important is the multi le receptacle assembly co-operating with t e duplex follower plates. The plates constitute false bottoms and ordinarily do not stick. By catching hold of the finger grips 12 at either end of the tray, the follower plate can be lifted to project the receptacles sufliciently far to permit convenient removal thereof.

The rods 7 are important in that they facilitate assembling of the receptacles by guiding the receptacles conveniently and accurately into place. The duplex arrangement of the crank shafts 8 in each of the compartments is important in that it allows eitheru one or both edges of the follower plate 6 to be lifted. The idea of having the finger grips 12 at each end of the drawer is to permit the drawer to be inserted from either end, thus rendering the structure substantially fool-proof.

The slots 13 are novel in that they function as cams to facilitate the lifting of the crank shafts 8. The extending of the finger grip ends of the levers through the slots reinforces and renders rigid the structure. The foregoing and many other features and advantages will be quite apparent to persons skilled in the art to which the invention i'elates. y

It is thought that persons skilled inthe art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor chan es in shape, size, and rearrangement of etails coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice 'if desired.

1. In a construction of the class described, a tray, a false bottom therein, ice molds located in the tray and seated on said false bottom, and means for elevating the false bottom.

2. In a construction of the class described, a tray, a false bottom therein, ice molds located in the trayand seated on said false bottom, means for elevating the' false bottom,` said means embodying at least one rockably mounted crank shaft arranged between the main bottom and falsebottomf.

3. In a construction of the class described, a tray,y a false bottom therein, ice molds located in the tray and seated on said false bottom, means for elevatin the false bottom, said means embodying at least one rockablyA mounted crank shaft arranged between the main bottom and false bottom, and including .an exteriorly arranged operating finger grip y bottoms.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH M. CHMELAR. 100 

